As mentioned in my last post, Nick got me a “gift-of-experience” for my birthday in April — it was tickets to go to The Field Trip Music Festival, located amoungst Toronto’s oldest buildings, at Fort York. While the fest was on for two days, he got me (us) a day-pass for the Sunday because one of my favourite musicians was playing on that day, American singer/songwriter LP! I was really excited to see/hear her live, but also for all the other great musicians on the bill.
As people do when they have something good to look forward to, I may have wished that last month away so the date would finally arrive, and that it did this past weekend.
As the date got closer, we saw the weather forecast get worse and worse. While we packed up to head over, they were still warning people to expect severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. So, we brought along rain ponchos and a waterproof blanket, and wore shoes we didn’t care about wrecking. Thankfully, I put on a good layer of sunscreen and grabbed a hat on the way out the door (but forgot my sunglasses), because the forecast ended up being way off and the weather turned out to be gorgeous! In fact, at one point it became too sunny for me so we found some shade.
I made sure we arrived in time to catch the first act on The Garrison Stage, Nefe, who I’d had the good fortune of seeing sing a couple of songs at an event a couple of years ago. I was eager to see this 22 year old dynamo from Guelph with an amazing voice, do a whole set.
Her originals were great, plus we were treated to an excellent rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Valerie.
The Star recently published a very complimentary story about this young artist with a bright future here, if you’d like to read it.
After her show, I hung out by the stage to see if I could say hello, and this happened …
So, Field Trip was definitely off to a good start!
Following Nefe, there was an hour gap before LP, so we headed over to the Fort York stage to get a good spot. We were glad we did, because we caught a set by another young talented artist, Hip-Hop artist TOBi. He was new to us, but now that we’ve heard him, we’re fans of this memorable performer. His was a fun and energetic set.
Now Magazine named him one of the top Toronto hip-hop musicians to watch in 2017.
↑ My shirt is a vintage one from Exile in Kensington Market, found during this shopping trip. ↑
It was after TOBi and before LP that the sun became a bit too intense for me and a beer sounded like a good idea, so off we went to find shelter at The Mill St. Micro Brewery area, nabbing a spot at a picnic table under a canopy.
↑ Nick’s hat is from Goorin on Queen Street West, found during this shopping trip. ↑
From where we sat, we had a good view of the stage, so were ready to head over, with a second beer in hand when LP aka Laura Pergolizzi began.
She was fantastic! When she began “Into The Wild” I entered that zone of perfection, when you get to hear and sing-along while a musician performs a song you really love.
Her voice is huge, as is her charming personality. Everyone really looked like they were having a good time, as she waved out to the crowd, as though she could see who she was waving at. We also witnessed her impressive whistling skills and her confident trick of flipping and catching her harmonica and microphone in mid air.
While Nick wasn’t overly familiar with her before the show, he now really likes her too. I overheard him on the phone yesterday, telling someone that hers was one of the best live performances he’s ever seen, and that’s saying a lot considering the huge number of concerts this guy has been to.
A highlight of the day was running into LP in the crowd later and having the opportunity to say hi in person and tell her how terrific she was/is. She smiled that big smile of hers and made my day.
Next up, back at The Garrison stage, we saw singer/songwriter from Vancouver, Hannah Georgas. In keeping with the high quality acts at the festival, her set was excellent, with a full sound thanks to the keyboard and guitar she played, and her band of four, including two horn players.
Following Hannah, we went to check out Timber Timbre from Montreal. This was a band that Nick knew but that I’d not heard before.
↑ I met these two friendly ladies on the way. ↑
Their interesting and somewhat eerie sound drew a crowd, amoungst which we stood for a while, but then decided to go find a patch of grass within hearing distance, to spread our blanket and enjoy some snacks we got from the various food trucks. The freshly made Maple Syrup donuts were particularly delicious!
The sun began to set and in our calm and relaxed state, we missed getting up to see the acts playing before the headliner, Feist. By the time we got over to The Garrison Stage, we were too late to get a close spot for her show and, unfortunately, had little choice but to stand at the back of the crowd. Oh well, we got to hear her well, and she sounded great.
After Feist, we crossed back to The Fort York Stage one final time to catch the unique instrumental sounds of BadBadNotGood. Contrary to their name, they were good!
We realized, after over 7 1/2 hours, that we were pooped out and wouldn’t make it to the final headliner, Phoenix. But you can’t do it all, right? And there is always next year — after having such a great time at Field Trip 2017, we plan to be there in 2018.
Thanks for reading,
xo loulou
